Resonance of Hearts
by TUMe
Summary: Sasuke is a werewolf who ignore his wolf-part.Thus, he cant transform fully; he's stuck between a man and a wolf. His wolf believe it has found a mate. Sasuke refused,not only becoz Sasuke doesn't trust the wolf,it's also becoz, the mate is a boy.SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

**Author's note: This is my writing practice. I've been without writing for quite sometimes, I have difficulty continuing ABO. So, I thought, I need a warm-up. That's why this story came about. Enjoy. Not edited. No complex plot. A fantasy.**

**Chapter 1**

"What are we gonna do about this?" Taiki looked anxiously between his senior of four years, Kurota , and the tray full of raw red meat on the table beside him.

"Why are you asking me that for?! You go!"

"No way! I'm not suicidal."

"Chicken-poo! It's not like you gonna be eaten alive if you go in there, stupid. Well, at least nobody has been eaten alive for the past six years… so, yeah, you gonna be fine. Just go in. Put the tray there and get out. Old Man Souji has done it all the time."

"If it was _that_ easy, why don't you do it? I have a wife and kids to feed, I don't wanna danger my life like this. If I get killed, who is gonna look after them?!" Taiki hissed, careful not to raise his voice even in a fit of anger.

His senior just looked at him passively, not a bit concern about his worries. Damn that guy. Just because he had joined the force four years earlier than Taiki, he thought he could order him around? Screw him. He wouldn't back out this time, especially when his life was on the line.

Taiki had heard about the tales—gruesome tales about 'The Cell'. Countless of people had went in there but never really successfully came out; lost of one limb or two was normal but losing life was even more so. Though it was true there was no death in the recent six years, Taiki was not taking any chances.

After all, the only reason there was no casualty for the last six years was because of the Old Man Souji. For some miraculous reasons, the first time Old Man Souji went inside 'The Cell', he came out unscathed; not even a scratch. From that moment on, he took over the duty to bring in the tray and until now, he was still alive.

But tonight, the old man was absent.

"Where's Old Man Souji anywhere? He's the one who supposed to do this, damnit." Taiki's voice sounded more and more agitated.

"Old man fell and broke his back. Now, Taiki, just take this damn herb torch and get inside."

Taiki looked squarely at Kurota's face, "I'll go if you go too." Seniority be damned; Kurota didn't have the right to push Taiki around. If he was going to die, he might as well bring along a 'friend'.

Kurota cursed. Taiki sure was stubborn but understandably so. He didn't want to go in there either, even with the herb torch. No matter what Old Man Souji said how the herb torch could keep people safe from the danger in 'The Cell', he still wasn't going in there.

_Prak._

A noise came from the outside. Both of the guard became alert. 'The Cell' was situated pretty deep in the forest. It was a rarity to see anybody venture this deep into the forest. At this time of night? Never. It might just be wild animals but it was safer to check it out.

Kurota picked up his torch and looked around to find the source of the noise. He didn't have to look far. There it was; a figure hunching not to far from where he was stationed. Even in the dim light he could see the blond hair and the bright orange shirt.

He smiled.

"Hey Taiki. Let that _boy_ deliver the tray."

"What, you mean, Naruto?"

"Is there anybody else here, _Baka?_ Of course, Naruto! Nobody gonna accuse us anything if he…you know, say, meet a misfortune? He doesn't have family, friends whatsoever."

Taiki looked at Kuroda, perplexed. What Naruto had to do with…

Something clicked in Taiki's brain_. _Now, he understood. Both Taiki and Kuroda smiled.

Naruto was the resident orphan of the Fan Kingdom. Nobody gave him any mind. He lived in the forest by himself and supported himself by selling fire woods in the town. He got his clothes from Old Man Sarutobi (hands-down clothes). Now that the old man had died, that boy had never changed clothes again.

He had no family; nobody ever knew where he came from. He had never been to school; he had no education.

He had nothing.

To sum it all in one word, Naruto was a homeless. Nobody was going to miss him even if he was gone.

909

Naruto was holding some kind of torch in his left hand and a tray full of red meat in his other hand. The guards told him to bring the tray inside of a room that was situated at the far end of the corridor. They promised him they would treat him to anything that he wanted to eat after this.

The mere thought of it made Naruto salivate. Ichiraku ramen flashed like a light bulb in his mind—his favourite food. It was such a long time since he had Ichiraku ramen. Since Old Man Sarutobi died, he had never had Ichiraku ramen again. Even if he did have enough money to treat himself to a bowl of ramen (usually he didn't) once in a while, he wasn't comfortable eating there. The shop owner was nice, but the patrons looked at him like he was some kind of filthy being.

Maybe he was. The clothes that he wore were the only set of clothes that he had. So, even if he wanted to change, he couldn't. He didn't have enough money to buy a new set. He was dirt poor; he better spent money on food than for new clothes.

The sound of one of the guards clearing his throat reminded Naruto that he was still standing outside of the room, lost in his own thoughts. Naruto gave the guard a sheepish smile before awkwardly used his full hands to turn the handle.

Naïve Naruto didn't even question the guards why they didn't deliver the tray themselves. For a homeless guy, he sure was too trusting.

909

If not for the herb torch and the moonlight that managed to shine through the crack of the curtains, the room was pitch black. The herb torch's function was much like a candle the way it poorly illuminated the room. Naruto could barely make an outline of the room since the only part of the room that was illuminated was the area near the window and where he stood with the herb torch.

From what little he could see, there was something square that was put against a wall near the window. Naruto could only guess that it must be some kind of table.

Other than that he couldn't see anything else that resembling furniture or an object.

Naruto walked slowly towards the table. He thought it was better to put the tray on the table rather than left it on the floor.

"There. Finish my job. This is easy and I get to eat free ramen-tebba!"

Naruto grinned. He thought today would turn out bad when he was lost deep in the forest. Who knew he could be this lucky. He turned, hand still clutching the herb torch, and started to walk back to where the door was. He could hardly wait to reacquainting the flavour of Ichiraku ramen with his taste buds.

Something, somewhere in the room, shifted. Naruto almost jumped five feet high from the shock.

_Huh? Is someone here?_

He looked around in the darkness. His eyes rested on the tray that he just put on the table.

_Duh! There must be someone here. What's the tray here for, then?_

"Err…hello? I brought you your food…I think. It's on the table near the window."

Nobody answered him but now that he gave more attention to his surrounding, he could hear something like…heavy breathing coming from the darkest corner of the room.

"Hmm...arr…is there anyone there? Why are you in here…in the dark? Are you sick? You sound like you are. I mean…your-your breathing is kinda…"

Naruto didn't finish his sentence. He felt a little stupid talking by himself. He could still hear that heavy breathing so knew someone or maybe…something was here but no one was answering him.

Maybe it wasn't a human after all. Maybe that was why he didn't get any answer. Anyway, the heavy breathing sounded much like how a dog usually made.

_Maybe it's a dog. Maybe here is where they keep the royal dogs._

Something shifted again. This time, the noise sounded nearer. It sounded like the heavy breathing was coming towards him. Naruto fidgeted nervously on his feet and brought around the herb torch in front of him to better see what was coming towards him. The first thing his saw was a pair of very red eyes.

He screamed. Very loud and high-pitched, he sounded like a girl. He was sure everyone in the building could hear him. By reflex, Naruto stumbled backward a couple of steps. Maybe because of his scream, the red eyes stopped approaching him.

**_Click! Clark! Tap!_**

Someone just locked the door.

_Shit. I'm-I'm trap! What is this-this thing?! Gho-ghost?!_

Naruto kept taking backward steps until his back met a wall. The red eyes didn't follow him immediately but the eyes seemed to be staring at him unblinking. Naruto was so afraid, he could feel his fine hair rising and his body began to chill.

Then, the red eyes started approaching him again. Naruto almost wet his pants.

"Stop! Don't come near me! I have-have this!" Naruto swung the pathetic excuse of a torch in front of him to emphasize his threat. "I'll burn you!"

The red eyes' step faltered for a second, but only for a second. With such fast movements that Naruto's eyes couldn't catch up, the torch was flung across the room. Startled, Naruto let out a frightened yelp and flattened his body onto the wall; the red eyes were directly in front of him now.

He—he could see it clearly now! The moonlight helped illuminated the feature that was standing so near to him. This close, he couldn't be mistaken. It was—it was…

"Wolf." The word came out like a whisper from Naruto's pale lips.

And the second the word came out—as if to confirm it—the wolf howled.

Naruto began to shake. It—it really was a wolf! A freaking walking wolf! With red eyes and—and fur all over its body! Although it was wearing some sort of pant, Naruto was almost sure its upper body was as furry as its lower body.

Its muzzle was long, just as normal wolf should, and—and a wet nose! Naruto could tell this because the wet nose glistened in the moonlight. But that was not all that glistened in the moonlight. Oh no. There were the sharp, _sharp _pointy teeth. No doubt, that kind of teeth can rip out meat from a body with ease.

Staring at those teeth with dread, the blond didn't even notice that he was sweating profusely; droplets of sweat trickled down his face. Naruto squeaked indignantly when the wolf came closer to him and opened its mouth. Surely, the wolf was going to eat him alive!

_I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. Kami-sama, I'm gonna die as a food!_ Naruto closed his eyes. If he had had to die this way, at least he had the right not to watch it.

Something was licking the right side of his face. Something wet, coarse and warm. Something that resembled a tongue a lot; a wolf's tongue to be exact.

At this change of event, Naruto immediately re-opened his eyes. Sure enough, there the wolf was, licking Naruto's face.

"Wha—what?" Poor guy was confused.

The wolf looked at him for some heart-stopping seconds and then proceeded to lick the other side of Naruto's face.

Was this what a wolf would do before it eat? Was this a wolf version of food-tasting? Bon-appetite's meaning had never driven home this hard. This was too cruel. Why didn't the wolf just kill him and be done with? Naruto wondered if wolf likes to play with its food before eating…

He shuddered.

Finished with licking Naruto's face, the wolf had started nuzzling Naruto's neck, licking here and there along the way. If it wasn't licking, it was rubbing its face with Naruto's. Once in awhile, the wolf would lick Naruto's lips and ears with its tongue.

Naruto whimpered. He really, really wanted to push off this—this molesting creature but he knew better than to aggravate a wild animal. Better play dead or impassive than being defensive because that's like an invitation for the animal to start a fight.

And a fight should be avoided at all cost. A mere human could not have a fight with this deadly creature and came out as the survivor.

The wolf's ears flickered at the whimpering sound. It stopped its licking and nuzzling activities. Without taking off its stare on Naruto, it moved a couple steps back.

Naruto paid attention to every single movement that the wolf made. He didn't want to miss anything in case the wolf decided to strike him.

The human didn't know why but suddenly the wolf started to lick its front paw and then with the same paw, it used it to brush its furry ears. Once. Twice. Again and again. Just like a cat when it cleans itself. To Naruto's astonishment, the ears looked shiny after that, due to the saliva coating it. Although the freaking big, walking wolf was scary, somehow at the moment it looked a bit…pretty.

Too enraptured at the scene in front of him, Naruto did jump in fright when he felt something brushing his leg. It—it was a—a tail! A very bushy tail too. But of course, a wolf has a tail! Naruto just didn't notice it in his fright.

He looked in silent amazement when the wolf held the tail with its paw. Slowly, the paw brought the tail closer to its mouth. When the tail was near enough to the muzzle, the wolf then licked it till it was shiny, just like what it did to his ears moments ago. After it finished with its licking, the tail somehow looked really soft and…pretty.

How such creature that looked deadly could look pretty at the same time, was a wonder to Naruto. But by Kami-sama, it did. The wolf was—was stunning with its shiny fur and muscular height and—and its sharp claws…

Naruto gulped nervously. He had forgotten all about the sharp claws, so busy he was staring at the shiny fur.

Sudden movements from the wolf made Naruto plastered his body onto the wall again, wary of the wolf's next actions. But, instead of attacking Naruto, the wolf twirled around in front of him like it was showing his newly brush and shiny fur to Naruto. The tail would whip Naruto's leg in a playful manner between the twirling. Once or twice the tail would curl around his leg.

Naruto was no less frightened from the wolf's weird behaviour than he first saw the red eyes. Was this a wolf's idea of playing with its food? It was sure very weird. But weird or not, the wolf still had teeth that was deadlier than any sharp sword.

The blond boy tried hard not to cry when the wolf started nuzzling his body again. This time, the wolf was more aggressive; using its paw, it tried to loosen Naruto's shirt as if it was desperate for the human's skin. Naruto made a small protest by clinging at his shirt as hard as he could.

The wolf made quiet whining sounds at the resistance and with its claws the shirt was ripped to shred. It made a low howling sound at its victory then proceeded to happily rub its body with Naruto's naked skin.

Stupefied, Naruto just could stand there—pale and cold from fear—perfectly imitating a statue. That—that wolf just used its sharp claws to rip his shirt to shred! His only shirt, dammit. What he was going to wear tomorrow?!

Provided that there was still a tomorrow for him.

He felt his pant became wet. The thought of dying made him wet his p….

Wait. No, that wasn't him, dammit. He did not just pee in his pant although he admitted he was scared enough to do so but he didn't. This was not his….

Shit, it was the wolf! The wolf just peed on his pant! Freaking wolf! The smell! Gahh…it was horrible!

"Wha…why…you!" Naruto tried to come out with intelligent questions but failed miserably.

The wolf didn't seem too concern about it; he was still happily rubbing his body to Naruto's. Between rubbings, the tongue would come out to lick Naruto's face, lips and neck. Oh Kami-sami, what was this wolf trying to do to him.

_Somebody, help me!!!_

_**Click!**_

Someone was trying to open the door. Naruto's hope flared. The wolf tensed. But before Naruto could shout the word 'help' he was already across the room, at the darkest corner, lying on his back with the wolf sprawled on top of him growling at whoever was trying to get inside.

With one paw pressed on Naruto's bare chest—to keep the human lying down—the wolf bared his teeth menacingly at the intruder.

909

Neji knew tonight would be trouble. Old Man Souji was absent and a new guy had to deliver a food tray to 'The Cell'. If that didn't spell trouble, he didn't know what would.

So, the second he heard the ear-piercing scream, he ran as fast as he could to 'The Cell'. Usually, he wouldn't be caught dead near 'The Cell'. The wolf blood in him would only aggravate the beast in 'The Cell' especially on a full moon like this. He better distanced himself to avoid bloodbath.

But, tonight was an emergency. Things like this usually were handled by Kakashi but that man was busy dealing with some stubborn delegates who refused to back down before they could meet The Ruler. So, he, as the second-in-command, had to step-up.

_Fool, all of them. If they only knew where The Ruler really was right now. Kakashi better be quick. Or another innocent people will die._

909

Neji arrived to find both of the guards stationed in front of 'The Cell' were as white as sheet. Both look terrified that if somebody said 'Boo' they might keel over and die.

_Useless._ Neji scoffed.

"Key. And pass me the torch." One of the guards handed him what he needed like a robot. They were still too spooked to have their mind back.

Neji unlocked the door and peeked inside. Shit. The room smelled like urine. As soon as he stepped inside, he received a menacing growl. He looked at the source of the growling sound. The torch allowed him to see a human-sized wolf crouching protectively over a terrified figure, at the darkest corner of the room.

Neji's eyes went wide at this. Did he see what he thought he saw? Impossible, right? Surely that wasn't Sasuke protecting his potential m….

The wolf growled more menacingly this time and Neji was out of the room.

Neji shook his head to clear the surprise. He loomed over the terrified guards in anger.

"Why did you let a female in there, stupid?! First rule: no female is allowed in 'The Cell'."

"So—sorry Lord Neji. But—but there's no female anywhere. The person in there is…was a boy."

Neji raised a skeptical brow. "He's not dead yet." Neji seemed to think about something before he asked his next question. "A boy you said?"

"Y—yes, Lord Neji. We won't dare lie to you."

"What happened, Neji?" Someone had just arrived, _almost_ made Neji startled. His arrival was so quiet, nobody had noticed until he spoke.

"Oh, Master Kakashi, you're here. Problem."

"Ceh. Give me that torch."

And Kakashi went into the room.

909

The first thing that Kakashi noticed was, the room smelled like urine. This tickled something unpleasant in Kakashi's memories. Something weird had happened in this room. Just like Neji, Kakashi received a menacing growl from the human-sized wolf too as soon as he stepped into the room. The sharp teeth would have made him rooted in fear if he hadn't seen it often enough.

Still, he was kept rooted on his feet in shock. He recognized that stance. The wolf was protecting his potential mate! Crap! That was one big trouble to deal with. They had purposely prohibited any female to be near 'The Cell' so that this kind of thing wouldn't happen.

Damn. Now that the beast had thought it had found his mate, there wouldn't be much left to do to avoid this.

The wolf growled again, louder this time, jolted Kakashi from his thinking. Clearing his throat, Kakashi said in his most soothing voice, "Relax, Sasuke. This is Kakashi. You remember me, don't you? I'm just here to take this herb torch so it won't hurt your nose any longer." Kakashi was slowly inching to where the herb torch was and picked it up.

"There. I just take this outside and let you and your potential mate be."

With that, Kakashi was out of the room as fast as he could. Alas, Kakashi was not fast enough. He still got scratches from where the wolf claws met his arm. Damn.

909

"Which idiot let a female in there?!" Kakashi was fuming. He was so angry he didn't even realize his arm was bleeding.

"I asked them the same question." Neji answered in a cool voice. Kakashi looked at him with narrowed eyes. Neji continued, "That person in there is no female. That's a boy."

Kakashi made a face; disbelieve was written all over it. He looked at the guards for confirmation. Both of the guards were quick to agree with Neji's statement.

Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. After a long tense silence, he let out a rare smile. "No kidding, huh? Who'd have thought? Ceh, I'll be damned."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

**Author's note: I want to thank angelpet, BrokenBloodDrops, dragonfire04, darkimmortalityS, ladyshina, hollowsmile and KoTenshi for leaving me a review. I slept at 4 am to get this chapter done for you all. Enjoy.**

**Still unedited. Still untitle. No complex plot (I think).**

**Chapter 2**

_Sasuke?! The wolf has a name! It has a freaking name! _

Naruto dared himself to look at the wolf's face from his lying position but quickly moved his gaze to the guy who called himself Kakashi. Damn, that a mistake that he wouldn't repeat again; it was like looking at an enraged tiger in the mouth! If he wasn't already lying down, he was sure he would collapse because his knees would've turned to jelly.

What did this wolf want from him, anyway, trapping him like this? If the wolf wanted to eat him, why didn't it just eat him already?! Being dead was better than living in sheer fright like this! It was torture! And why didn't that Kakashi guy help him out of this mess?

Gathering what little courage he had in time like this, Naruto tried to call Kakashi's name to get the guy's attention. Unfortunately, before he could even mutter the 'Ka' in Kakashi's name, the wolf swiped angrily at the guy and then he was gone.

"B—b—blood!" Naruto sputtered. The claws had blood all over it. When did the wolf even move to get near that guy?! God-damn-it! This wolf was fast! What was Naruto's chance to run from anything this fast? Lower than zero apparently.

Damn, his future really was bleak. He really would die here, wouldn't he? As the wolf's dinner, no less. Sad. Pathetic really. But what could he do about it? He knew how strong and fast the wolf could be. He didn't stand a chance if at all.

Naruto let the sad thought—of him dying here in the dark—swirled in his mind while watching the wolf cleaned its bloody paw. His usually twinkling eyes turned lifeless at that prospect. He let tears trickled down his cheeks.

Usually, even on his worst day, he was not one to cry so easily. Even if life treated him badly, he didn't usually cry. But—but this was beyond bad. The tears flowed faster and Naruto didn't feel a bit shame about it. Who was going to see him cry anyway? In this dark room? Keh, he would consider himself lucky if people found his dead body.

And that thought was just so damn depressing.

The wolf above him sniffed and tasted the salty air. It whined quietly at him which made Naruto wonder was that because he sensed Naruto's tears. Maybe it did, because the wolf licked away the tears and whined quietly again. Naruto ignored it; he didn't have the energy to even be scared anymore.

Finished with licking the tears away, all of a sudden, the wolf peeled itself from Naruto's body and sauntered across the room to where the tray was. With such elegant that only human usually possessed—certainly not animal—it picked the tray and came back to Naruto.

Naruto, who had quickly got up as soon as the wolf left his side, scooted away until he was at the very corner of the room. Unlike before, the room was a bit brighter due to the torch that Kakashi had brought in, so Naruto was able to see the wolf carefully kneeling in front of him and offered him the tray. Well, it looked like the wolf was offering him the tray but Naruto could never be too sure.

Naruto didn't move an inch. He didn't know what the wolf expected him to do. Is he supposed to take the tray from it or what? What if the wolf got mad if he took it? Torn, he opted to do nothing.

The wolf whined at him and moved the tray closer to him. It nudged Naruto's hand as a sign of encouragement. Still, Naruto didn't budge. Sensing that Naruto wouldn't take its offer, the wolf opened the tray's cover and picked one slice of meat itself.

After it took the first bite of it, it offered the meat to Naruto.

Naruto took all of these in, with awe. _What? The wolf is trying to feed me? Does this mean it won't eat me? Does it? Does it? But wait, if he doesn't want to eat me, what the fuck does this mean then?_

He looked at the paw that was still offering him 'food'. Damn, he got one big crisis here. He didn't eat raw meat (who does?) but if he refused…what the wolf would think? No, scratch that. What the wolf would feel? Angry? Dejected? Mad?

Naruto sure didn't want to be on the wolf's bad side.

The blond gulped nervously. Carefully, Naruto held up his hands—palms out—hoping like hell, the wolf would interpret this as a peaceful gesture. Rather than staying quiet, he guessed, maybe he should try talking to the wolf like the Kakashi guy did.

"Thanks." His voice was soft. He didn't want to startle the wild animal with his loud voice. "But I don't eat raw meat."

The wolf tilted its head to the side, looking a little confused. The meat was brought a little closer to Naruto's mouth, in offering gesture. Naruto quickly shook his head, refusing. He carefully pushed back the paw holding the raw meat; shit, the fur _was_ as smooth as its look.

Seeming to understand that Naruto was not going to take its offer of food, the wolf ate that piece of meat in one gulp. He settled himself beside where Naruto was crouching. Its furry paw traced little circles on Naruto's shoulder; little shudder ran all over Naruto's body.

_Oh man, not this again…._

Its tail was slowly brushing Naruto's cloth-covered legs.

"Er…can you not do that? I mean, it's kinda…tickle."

The wolf looked at him strangely for two seconds then turned around to gulp another piece of meat. It didn't stop the brushing or the tracing or the licking or the nuzzling…..

If Naruto did know better, he'd say this wolf was molesting him. But the naïve boy really didn't know better. Half of his mind was convinced that maybe, the wolf wouldn't eat him since it had already finished the whole tray of…. food. The wolf also offered him some. Surely it didn't want to eat people who it offered food to, did he? _Unless_ …unless if he wanted to _eat_ Naruto when he was fatter…

_Stop. Don't go there. Be—besides a wolf can't have that kind of plan, can it? It's a wolf! Wolf doesn't make that kind of plan. _

Naruto was aware that he was talking to himself but that was necessary to calm himself since now, the wolf was pawing at his pants.

"Hey—hey! That—that's my pants, you know. No, no , no! Don't—don't rip my pants! Why don't you take off your own pants?! Goddammit!"

The wolf stopped his attempt and looked at Naruto. Was that a smirk he sees?

"No, no, no. I'm not suggesting you should take off your pants or anything…what I mean is…hey, hey…stop that!"

_**Rip!**_

"Damn, that was my only pants, stupid wolf! What do you have against my paint?!" was what Naruto really wanted to say, but of course, he was too afraid to say it.

For what it was worth, the wolf looked a little calm with Naruto's pants off. Gently, like no wolf should behave, he pushed at Naruto's chest so that Naruto'd lie on his back.

"Wha—what do you want now?" _What kinda wolf behave like this?!_

The wolf didn't answer, as expected, instead it lied beside Naruto, with half of his body sprawled across the human. It began to rub his body against Naruto again. The tail was making a trail from Naruto's feet up to his hip, some times it was getting too close to Naruto's boxer-covered crotch.

That made Naruto squeaked indignantly.

Naruto tried to move away from the touch and the rubbing, but the wolf put one of his legs on top of Naruto's to prevent him from escaping. Damn, that was worse than before. Now, the wolf's leg _and_ tail were rubbing against his thighs.

When Naruto protested by pushing against the wolf's chest, it made a quiet growling sound. He stopped protesting immediately; even though the growl was quiet, the menace in it was apparent. From then on, Naruto just lay still and let the wolf did whatever it wanted to do to him.

Talking about slow torture.

At long last (Naruto didn't know how long), the wolf stopped rubbing. But by that time, it was now curling comfortably on top and around Naruto. From the way it sounded, the wolf had fallen asleep. However, in that kind of position there was no way Naruto could escape and not waking up the wolf simultaneously.

Now, he was truly, utterly trapped. Damn.

So, without anything better to do—and because he was tired from the day—Naruto reluctantly was pulled into an awkward but surprisingly deep sleep. The last thought in his mind before he totally gone was, the wolf made a pretty good blanket because at least he was warm tonight. He had never slept this comfortable and warm for such a long, long time.

909

Sasuke was the type of person who, when he was awake, he was awake. No transition period in between like normal people usually have; the period between sleep and awake. So, when he woke up this morning, he immediately became alert of his surrounding.

He was in 'The Cell'. He recognized this room for he had been in this room countless of time before. Ever since he could remember, every night of full moon, he would be here. Though, what actually happened when he was in this room, he didn't have the slightest clue. This was because, it was not him that was in the room every night of full moon; it was the wolf.

That was meant to say, when he was in his wolf form, he couldn't remember anything that happened around him. It was like, the memories he had when he was a wolf was wiped out when he turned back to human.

But really, Sasuke was not bothered by this at all because Sasuke didn't give a flying shit what the wolf thought, experienced or remembered; he hated the wolf. Actually it was good that he wasn't able to access the wolf's memory.

He refused to think himself as some kind of beast. Or animal.

Still, he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Without fail, every full moon, the wolf would fiercely fight him to be let out and Sasuke would lose every single time. He had a tight rein on the wolf any other time, but the full moon's call was too strong to resist. So, whether he wanted to or not, he would turn into half-wolf every full moon.

Last night was no different. He succumbed to the full moon's call and had to be in 'The Cell' for safety purpose.

That was expected.

What he didn't expect was to wake up and find somebody, half-naked, sleeping soundly under him. He also didn't expect to wake up and smell like urine. A thought passed through his mind: why the wolf didn't eat this human? There was only one reason why the wolf had let the human slept with him. But he quickly squished that thought.

It was none of his business.

With that, he quickly extracted himself from the blond lying on the floor. The non-gentle movements did disturb the blond sleep but he didn't wake up. Rather, he curled up on himself to preserve the heat that he had lost when Sasuke withdrew.

Sasuke looked at the boy closely, searching for any sign that would make his dreaded life more miserable. When he didn't find anything, he let out a sigh that he wasn't aware he held.

909

Kakashi was already waiting for him outside of the door with his coat. His ever faithful guardian/advisor/pseudo-uncle covered his nose as he approached.

He really did stink.

The silvered-hair man was about to say—Sasuke was sure, it was something crude—something but Sasuke's cold look shut him up. Still, the man laughed quietly at him.

_Damn, that Kakashi._

"Good morning, Your Majesty." He bowed a little. Sasuke gave a polite 'Hn' in return and fully intended to leave the building as quick as he could so that he could take a refreshing shower to rid himself of all the filth.

Kakashi cleared his throat, an attempt to get the young King attention before he could walk off. "What do you want me to inform your mate?"

Sasuke turned sharply to look at kakashi. "He is no mate of mine," he said between gritted teeth. Kakashi frowned. At the older man's disbelieve face, Sasuke continued, "I know what you think, but there's no mark."

"So, what do you want to do with the young man, Your Majesty?"

Sasuke gave him a condescending look to express what he felt about the question; stupid question. "You know what you have to do."

Kakashi shook his head at his King arrogance. He was about to step into 'The Cell' when the same arrogant King called his attention.

"Who allowed the stranger to be in the room last night?"

"The guards—"

"Kill them."

As simple as that, the King strode off. He didn't even pause to listen to Kakashi's explanation. Kakashi wondered if it was his fault Sasuke had became a hard-hearted King like that.

909

_Poor boy. I guess, some people really got it bad._

The poor boy in question was still sleeping on the floor in a curling position. He was shaking a bit from the cold but still didn't wake up.

_Apart from his missing shirt and pants, the boy looked fine_. Kakashi observed. He let his eyes roamed over the boy almost naked body.

_He told the truth. There's no mark._

Not a bite. Not even a scratch. This was kinda…weird. Kakashi could've sworn that last night the wolf had chosen this blond boy as its mate; it already marked its territory by peeing on him and protecting him from other potential rival, for God's sake! But there was no marking to confirm that. Usually, there would be a bite mark where the shoulder meets the neck or at least a bite on the wrist.

This was strange indeed. Did something happen last night that made the wolf stop its claiming? Was it because the potential mate was a boy?

_Well, that shouldn't be a problem really. The wolf instinct can never be wrong. If it's this boy, it'd be this boy. Maybe…they need to date first._

Kakashi chuckled at his own joke. But, yeah, who knows? Maybe the both of them—the wolf and this blond boy—needed some period of courting…or dating before the wolf would make the final claim.

Well for Kakashi, this was actually better. It would really be a problem if the wolf had had made its claim and Sasuke refused to acknowledge it. Cause, even though Sasuke vehemently ignored his wolf side, once the wolf stake a claim to someone, there were sequences to be followed or both of them might suffer.

That was why…_poor boy_. Kakashi didn't envy to be him.

Taking pity on the boy, Kakashi let him sleep a little longer. Besides, this would give him some times to study the boy. In the morning light, Kakashi could see now, the boy had blond hair, tan skin and a slightly smaller build than the average boy his age.

And just about anybody in the kingdom, Kakashi recognized him; he was the Uzumaki Naruto kid. The orphan.

Kakashi often saw him at the market; some times he was selling fire woods; some times, he noticed him lifting boxes as a job. He knew from observation, that kid had a pair of startling blue eyes.

And every time he looked at those startling blue eyes, it always prickled something in Kakashi's memories.

But, he didn't know what it was.

The boy face seemed familiar somehow: the bright blond hair and the mesmerizing blue eyes. But damn, he could never put his finger on what. Some times he thought the memory had resurfaced, but once he tried to grasp it, the memory flew away.

It was so damn frustrating.

Kakashi let out a frustrated sigh. He turned to look back at the boy and found a pair of blue eyes was looking back at him. That gave him a mini-shock.

"Yo—you.." the boy croaked. He was already in a sitting position, albeit a bit shaky. "You're the—the Kakashi guy." He appointed an accusing finger at Kakashi. "You talked to the.."

As if remembering something, he looked around in panic. "There—there's a wolf. Wolf! Where is it now?" The voice was high-pitch. The boy was standing up now; he looked like he was ready to bolt. "It—it was taller than me and—and I—I thought it wanted to eat me!"

"Ah…yeah. The wolf. It's gone now. Don't worry." Kakashi gave him a small smile. "Aren't you cold?"

"The wolf ripped my clothes!"

Kakashi did chuckle at that. _Ma…ma…that was interesting. _ "Here, take this jacket and follow me."

Naruto was grateful he got something to cover himself; the room was cold.

"Th—thanks. But where are you taking me?"

"Prison."

"Wha—what? What did I do? What ever you're accusing me of, I didn't do it, I swear!"

"I know."

"So why—"

"Because you know about the wolf. You're not supposed to know about it."

"I—I don't…I—I won't… That's not fair! "

"Who has ever said life's fair, kid."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

**Oh man, maybe I should stress this. This is a practice. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed. Thank you! I need to know what people think of this story so I can learn. Practice, see?**

**Edited by Ichi Kuro Neko (at LJ).  
**

**Chapter 3**

"What news do you have for me? Have you found him?" Sasuke looked down from his place at the throne, at the man who was kneeling in front of him. His eyes were cold and his voice was flat; he looked unreachable but still exuded some kind of undeniable charisma and power, befitting for a King.

"Yes, your Majesty." The man raised up his head after completing the necessary formal greetings. "We've spotted His Majesty's brother—"

The man suddenly collapsed on the floor, holding his throbbing and bleeding head. Sasuke was already standing and looming over him angrily; he was the one who threw a side-table to that man's head.

"Are you tempting fate, fool?! Calling that traitor my brother?!" Sasuke gave the man a swift kick to his stomach. The abused man recoiled from the attack. "I'll let you go _this_ time because you have the information that I need. Mention it again and you'll not be able to speak."

Sasuke fully intended to give the man another kick, but Kakashi calling him stopped his actions. He turned sharply at the grey-haired man.

Nobody had noticed Sasuke's eyes flickering red for a few seconds but Kakashi did. He became a bit disturb by that. From his experience that was a sign that the wolf was too near to the surface. Worry gnawed at his conscience.

_It has just been a week since the last full moon. The wolf shouldn't be this close to come out._

Kakashi wrinkled his forehead. Something was definitely wrong with Sasuke. For the last seven days, Sasuke's behavior had changed dramatically. He had become more aggressive and angry easier. Sure, Sasuke was well known for his grumpiness and his cold demeanor, but since that full moon night the grumpiness and the coldness seemed to increase three notches higher.

Now, he was plain mean to anyone.

No one would deny that Sasuke had a mean streak in him—he was the direct descendant of the Wild Werewolf of Uchiha, after all—but he never had been _this _mean before. Just a slip of the tongue or misconduct, a head would fly. That was how mean he had become lately.

Just last night, he clobbered a cook—until the man was half-dead—just because his soup was cold. To be truthful, his soup wasn't cold. Sasuke was just irritated that the man looked so cheerful while he was feeling miserable.

Yes, miserable. He was always miserable though, ever since he came home that night—more than fifteen years ago—and found all of his family dead... by the claws of his own brother.

But lately, he wasn't just miserable but he was also restless. He couldn't sit still. Just looking at happy faces made him feel angry, made him want to hit, break, throw, or crush something. At worst time, he felt like killing everyone who crossed his path.

Only the thought of becoming like his insane brother stopped him from going on a killing spree.

He picked up a nearby statue and flung it across the chamber. Damn, he was angry; thinking of his brother has always made him angry.

"Your Majesty, please refrain from any violent conduct in the court. It—"

"Shut the fuck up, Kakashi! I'll do whatever I want." To emphasize this, he threw another statue near Kakashi's grey head and stomped out of the room.

"Let him be. Whoever value their life, let the King be by himself for a while," Kakashi said when some of the stupid, ass-kissing aristocrats wanted to chase after the agitated king. He looked down at the beaten man. "Ibiki-san, you alright?"

Ibiki, the man who had the misfortune of referring Itachi as Sasuke's brother just now, was one of the kingdom's best trackers. He was still clutching his bleeding head. "Yeah, I'm alright, Kakashi-san, just a—a bit dizzy." The tracker excused himself and went to look for a healer.

Kakashi looked around to assess the mess that Sasuke had made. Broken statues and vases were everywhere. Maybe he ought to remove all the fragile décor until after Sasuke had cooled down a little. That way they would save the time cleaning up after his mess.

Kakashi let out an exaggerated sigh. _Well, at least he doesn't kill someone. Got to do something before he does, though._

He met the white eyes of one Hyuuga Neji. The guy was frowning, a habit that—Kakashi was sure—going to earn him early wrinkles.

Kakashi poked him on the forehead. "You're frowning," he smirked, "No wonder you never have a date."

Neji slapped at the finger that poked him in reflex; he was taken by surprise, he didn't mean to do that but Kakashi was faster. The older man dodged the hit making Neji _almost_ pout.

Kakashi always treated him—and Sasuke—like small kids. Though Neji never admitted it, he was closer to Kakashi than he was to his own uncle who raised him as Neji's father died.

Recovered from his shock, Neji smirked right back. "Like you're one to talk. Paying for sex is not a date."

"You cheeky brat." Kakashi knocked him gently on the head which earned him a glare.

Kakashi chuckled. Oh, that glare was undoubtedly impressive (no wonder Sasuke and Neji were cousins) but Neji's glare was nothing compared to Sasuke's, which he received on a daily basis, meaning that he was nearly immune to them.

"Maa…stop that. Save that glare for your glaring contest with Sasuke-sama." A white eye twitched. Kakashi immediately changed the subject; that eye twitch was never a good sign. "So, have you finished your research yet?"

"I…have."

Kakashi heard reluctance in that voice. "What, still don't trust me?"

It wasn't that Neji didn't trust him, heck even that grumpy young King trusted Kakashi whole-heartedly. It's just that what Kakashi wanted to know what was his family secret. Even _he_ wasn't aware about the secret if Kakashi didn't ask for the information.

Neji was only aware that the information was his family secret because the book containing it was situated in a rather protected library that was found in the Hyuuga's holy shrine. The key to the shrine was kept with the family heir, Hinata. Fortunately, Hinata, was a nice girl—actually she was impeccably nice—she gave the key to Neji without much fuss. The young heir trusted him and knew without a doubt Neji must be doing something important if he wanted the key.

Really, Hinata gave him too much credit.

As soon as Neji attained the key, the young man spent a whole night awake in the library, trying to find the family secret. There were some books on family recipes and 'How not to be a Dork in Thirty days' that interested Neji, but that's not what he was looking for.

He finally found something whilst searching. Shit, if he didn't accidentally knock down the big-ass monkey statue he might have never found it, ever. Someone had obviously hid the book under the statue. It was rather clever because no onehad ever bothered to check the monkey statue which stood at a hidden corner of the shrine, abandoned and dusty.

Neji doubted even his uncle or Hinata knew the existence of the book. Curious, Neji took the book and began to read.

Oh holy cow! This book was exactly what he was looking for…he was intrigued. He was shocked. He was stunned. And damn him if he wasn't amazed.

No wonder this bookwas kept secret. The book told things about his family wolf's traits in a freaking fine detail, things that Neji was sure even his uncle (who was the previous clan leader) didn't know about. The book, being so detailed, even described the way to sharpen one's claws!

Neji knew he had wolf blood inside of him. Well, of course he knew, he wasn't that ignorant. The young man had sharper senses that normal humans shouldn't have and that was just one point that he was not an exactly a normal person. Few of his family members had these abilities; Hinata, Hinata's father, Hinata's sister and himself.

It was an unspoken agreement that no one else should know about their abilities or that they had wolf blood inside of them. Other people might have heard that once a long time ago, the Hyuuga family had a connection with wolves, but those rumors had turned into legends. No one had truly believed the legends any more.

The Hyuuga family wanted to keep it like that. It was safer.

Besides, Hyuugas can't change form, only the Uchiha's can, so it was easier to keep it secret. No one could explain why that was, but the most probable reason on why only Uchihas could change was maybe the wolf blood was thicker in Uchiha clan—even after centuries.

It has always been that way. Uchihas were almost from the alpha line and you could say the Hyuugas were their betas. Even now, Neji worked at the castle as if he was Sasuke's beta. He wasn't totally happy with it but let's just say it was all because of his wolf's instinct that he stayed.

909

Kakashi tapped his foot impatiently while waiting for the Hyuuga brat to open his mouth. Neji took too much time thinking over—whether he wanted to tell Kakashi the information or not—it was almost an insult. Kakashi might not look it but he was a trustworthy person.

"Anytime today okay?" Sarcasm was dripped heavily.

Neji stared at him for 1.5 minutes more before he spoke. "Come. I want to show you something. But if any of it gets out, I'll have to kill you." _More like both of us will be in trouble._

Neji led Kakashi to his study.

909

"Damnation." Kakashi's face was the epitome of surprise. Neji smirked. Even the all-knowing Kakashi didn't know all about werewolf. For the last three hours he had been reading and re-reading that book and cursing it more times than Neji cared to remember.

"Where did you get this?"

Neji knew that was a rhetorical question so he didn't bother to answer it. Instead, he cleared his throat to get back Kakashi's attention. "So?"

"Hmm." Kakashi assumed a thinking pose. His voice turned serious. "I suspected Sasuke's moody behaviour has something to do with that potential mate of his. That's why I'd asked you to find some information on it. The book just proves what I suspected."

"From what I read, he'll probably go out of control soon enough," Neji decided, "If he doesn't do something about it."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. He—he needs to accept that boy. We can force Naruto onto him but I think he'll probably kill him first before anything can be solved."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

Kakashi was happy to hear Neji used the word 'we'. Oh, this boy was nice. Sasuke had a friend in him.

"We can't do much to help. The key is for Sasuke to accept his…fate and live happily with it. God knows when that will be, so for now, we just have to keep an eye on Sasuke, make sure he doesn't hurt other people or…. himself too bad."

"Why don't we just give him some sleeping pills and let him sleeps until he calms down? I can tell those servants will be thankful to us."

"Maa….maa…Neji-kun, you're a bad boy, aren't you? Well, I've thought about that too," Kakashi ignored Neji saying 'You're the pot calling the kettle black', "but what'll guaranty he'll recover after a few days? Besides, I don't think sleeping pills work on him."

"How about… an aphrodisiac?"

They both shivered at the mental images. "How did you come out with something like that? But…it's a good idea. Maybe…err…we'll use it as the last resort."

After that, they were both silent for quite some time. Kakashi was busy erasing the disturbing mental images in his head while Neji was busy chiding himself for coming out with that idea.

Suddenly, Kakashi cheered up when a thought popped up. "Well, maybe I should go and give the cute boy, I mean, Sasuke's potential mate a visit."

"Cute boy?" Neji sounded suspicious. Kakashi arched his brow in a lewd way. "You pervert."

Kakashi chuckled and walked himself to the door. He turned around to face Neji before he stepped out and said, "Tell me something that I don't know," waved his hand and disappeared.

909

"Yoohoo, I'm right-tebba!"

The yell caught Kakashi's attention. He was on his way to the prison where Naruto was kept. Although he said to Neji he wanted to visit the blond during lunchtime, it was well past dinnertime now. He couldn't help it. Once he was out of Neji's study, he was saddled with so much work; he almost forgot to go visit Naruto.

He took his own sweet time walking to Naruto's cell which was not actually a _cell_. It was more like a quarantine room; a much, much better place from a prison's cell. Those quarantine rooms were usually reserved for respected or influential people who were held for some political dispute.

Kakashi didn't know why, but he thought Naruto deserved to be treated better than common wrong-doers. After all, he didn't _do _anything wrong. It was just bad luck that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and met with some wrong people.

Yeah, right.

Actually, Kakashi had a soft spot for that boy. The first time he saw him it was like looking at his long lost brother…which was entirely impossible and too mushy for someone like Kakashi. He was an only child so there was no way Naruto could be his long lost little brother.

Lost in thought, the next thing he knew, he'd arrived at his destination. The voices that he heard before sounded louder. Peering into the room, he watched Naruto talking to his cellmate. It looked like a one-sided conversation for some people, but since Kakashi had known Shikamaru for so long, he knew it wasn't. That bored face didn't mean he didn't pay attention.

Kakashi knocked once and entered the cell.

"Akk….it's –It's that Kakashi guy!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.

Kakashi held up his hands to show he came with no harm. "Hey, relax. I'm not a suspicious guy." Naruto took another step away from him just because of that statement. Suspicious guys always claim they're not suspicious, like crazy people claim they're not crazy.

Kakashi chuckled. "Look, your friend over there knows me. I just came to visit."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru for confirmation. Shikamaru heaved a sigh. "Troublesome. What do you want, Master Kakashi?"

"Why do you call him Master, Shika?"

_Shikamaru has nickname. Shika, eh? How cute. _Kakashi smirked.

"He's the King's right-hand man."

"You—you work with the King?!" Naruto spluttered. "Can you tell him to—to let me go? I swear I won't tell anybody about the—the," he threw a sideways glance at Shikamaru, "_wolf." _He finished at a whisper.

"You don't like it here? You look much better than the last time I saw you."

"Here is nice. I've never thought living in prison could be like this. I got new clothes. See?" The blond pointed to the blue uniform he was wearing. "I get to eat three times a day for free! And—and Shika is teaching me how to read! He's so smart."

"But?" There was definitely a 'but' in that sentence, Kakashi had just to ask.

"But—but I feel like I'm trapped here. I can't live here for the rest of my life."

Hmm...Kakashi thought. He didn't have an answer for that, so he changed the subject.

"So, your name is Naruto, right?"

"Yup, I'm Uzumaki Naruto-tebba! I like ramen and I'll be the best craftsman in the whole kingdom!"

Kakashi smiled. This boy was interesting. He was an orphan, poor, abandoned and imprisoned but still, he had a cheerful personality, energetic and a big dream. _A perfect partner for Sasuke._

As if he heard Kakashi mention his name, the door to the cell was crushed.

There, stood a big, not-so-bad wolf. Naruto screamed, Shikamaru pretended he had fainted and Kakashi cursed. "Damn. What now?"

909

The wolf looked around the room, his red eyes rested on Naruto. Slowly, he advanced towards Naruto and swiped at Kakashi who was too close to the blond. Kakashi immediately jumped away.

_Damn. He got my arm again._

Naruto was shouting at the wolf to get the hell away from him. Kakashi was quite impressed with that boy. Even though he was clearly afraid of the wolf and shouting angrily, he didn't try to run away.

_Maybe the boy knows how to handle wild animals, that's why he doesn't run?_

Kakashi watched as the wolf took a step forward and Naruto took a step back. It was like watching two people dance. The dance ended when Naruto's back met the wall and the wolf stood directly in front of him. He stopped shouting when the wolf started to sniff, lick, and rub his body against him.

Naruto resisted by pushing at the wolf's chest though the wolf didn't even seem to notice. Satisfied with Naruto's smell, he picked the blond up like a sack of potato and walked towards the exit. The wolf glared at Kakashi before he finally took off.

"Shit. I need to follow them. Shikamaru, I know you're awake. You can't tell what happened here, right now to anyone, understand?"

"Like anybody will believe me."

909

Kakashi trailed them. He was being extra cautious or else, Sasuke the wolf would know he was being trailed. With Naruto as a distraction, wolf-Sasuke was not as alert as he usually was. Thank God for that, otherwise, Kakashi would be dead already.

But Kakashi got to admit it, the wolf was clever; he didn't take the path most people used. Instead, he used deserted pathway to avoid people and so far, they didn't meet anyone.

The wolf kept walking, holding a struggling Naruto on his shoulder until he came to a familiar door.

Kakashi wasn't surprised when he found out where the wolf-Sasuke was taking Naruto: Sasuke's room.

_Of course. The wolf is taking his mate to its den._


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry. I know, therefore the apology. My colleagues said, this is escapism. I say, screw them. Hehe.**

**Un-beated. If you find any mistakes, feel free to point it to me and I'll change it.**

**Thank you.**

**Chapter 4: Three-Step Pattern**

The wolf—in truly caveman style—took what_ he_ though_t _was his mate to his den.

This might sounds terribly romantic to some but Naruto had to disagree.

He was kicking and screaming and smacking the wolf's back as hard as he could, all the way from the cell to the…hell, he didn't even know where _here _was. Here is where the wolf stood when it stopped walking. Naruto stopped his screaming, kicking and smacking for awhile to try and look where the wolf had taken him to.

He couldn't see anything. The only thing he could see was the wolf hairy back!

Hell and damn!

He also didn't see the wolf cleverly use his paw to turn a knob before entering a room.

The hairy thing sniffed the room for a few seconds before moving about as if it owned the damn room. By that time, Naruto had started kicking, screaming and smacking again.

Naruto was sure all the kicking and smacking got to hurt anyhow. It should be because he was damn sure he used all of his might in that kicking and smacking. Either the wolf was ignoring Naruto (which is really a hard thing to do) or it was immune to pain or the damn wolf was really strong.

Naruto had started to become frustrated. All the hard work he did to inflict injuries on the wolf didn't help him getting back on his feet. The wolf didn't even loose his hold on Naruto. In fact the way it tightened its hold, it didn't give any indication to put Naruto down anytime soon.

Instead, it seemed busy picking up pieces of clothes, here and there, that were scattered all over the floor which then he dumped them on the bed, making up a big pile of it.

Curiousity got the better of him, Naruto tried once again to look around and guess what the wolf was doing. This time he managed to lift his head and look; he was in somebody's room! From Naruto's observation—in his up-side down position across the wolf's shoulder—he could tell that the room was lavishly decorated but it was very untidy.

For a very beautifully decorated room, the messiness was…stunning: clothes were all over the place, training gears, half-eaten food, books, mold…you name it and it's on the floor.

In short, the room was messy.

_Whose bedroom is this?_ Naruto mused, almost forgetting that he was still in an up-side down position. He knew this was a bedroom because there was a big bed—a _very_ big bed—at the center of the room. A big bed that began to look more like a nest than a bed thanks to the growing pile.

_Is that a—a used brief that I saw? Eww…_

Naruto was beginning to think that the owner of this room must be one lazy bastard. A wreck ship looks better than the state of this room. The owner was obviously not a girl; that used brief was a dead giveaway. Well, unless girl likes to wear men underwear for sport, then yeah, this room could belong to a girl.

Still, this room had too much black and blue to not to belong to a boy. A boy that might have a disorder issue.

Naruto stopped his musing when the wolf stopped picking up things and went to what looks like a big-ass cupboard at the corner of the room. Naruto began to trash again; the fear spiked up when he could just imagine what the wolf wanted to do with the cupboard.

Of course the wolf wanted to dump him in that cupboard and lock him there and come back to eat him when it got hungry!

And the scariest of it all was no one would find his body. No one! Because the wolf would eat all of him except his bones because well, his bones was too hard but—but then maybe—maybe the wolf would—would make soup out of it. You know, so it could eat it after the bones got soft.

And—and then, no one—no one!—could trace him anymore!

Without realizing it, Naruto made some distress sounding noise. The wolf tightened his hold but didn't stop what he was doing. Rummaging in the cupboard, he pulled out blankets, shirts, more clothes and anything with similar material and threw them on the bed too. With an amazing accuracy, all of them landed on the bed without a miss; the wolf wasn't even looking!

But Naruto was too busy stressing and freaking out to notice that. If he had been paying attention, he would find it very strange and realize that this wolf was clever and subsequently would freaking out more because of it. That being the case, maybe it was a good thing he didn't realize it…yet.

909

When he couldn't find more blankets and such, the wolf turned around and walked back to the bed. He looked at the big pile of clothes and grunted in satisfaction.

Then, carefully, he put Naruto on top of the pile.

909

Naruto let out a quiet 'Oommp' when his back met the pile. Instantly, he tried to distance himself from the wolf and his sharp, sharp teeth but he could feel he was sinking further down in the pile of clothes when he pressed his body further on the bed. Desperately, he tried to sit up, he didn't want to drown in the sea of clothes and dirty laundry, thankyouverymuch. What a way to die, eh? Not cool at all, not to mention, unhygienic.

'Tried' being the keyword here. Sensing his intention, the wolf pushed him back so that he lied on the bed. With its own body, the wolf trapped Naruto from making anymore move.

And just like before, it started to rub his body against Naruto and licked him and nuzzled him and tore his clothes off…

Wait…that sounded so wrong, isn't it?

…

Naruto could handle being lick and nuzzle and rub but tore his clothes off? That was so over the line, dude. This was the second time the wolf had torn his clothes off and Naruto couldn't. Stand. It Anymore. Damn. It.

First, it was because, _that_ was the only set of clothes that he owned.

Secondly (but most importantly), clothes was not free. Sure, he got this blue uniform for free, but now that it got torn, what he was going to wear next? Leaves? Naruto didn't think so; they were kind of itchy to wear—he'd tried.

_And_ acquiring a new set of clothes needed money, which he definitely didn't have.

Truth is money wa_s_ a serious issue to Naruto. A _very_ serious issue actually; shouldn't take it lightly; tread carefully; handle with care. Yeah, that kind of serious.

Okay.

The bottom line is Naruto was _so_ particular about _his _money.

You would too, if you had to work hard for two weeks continuously, _and_ starved for every other day just to buy a decent shirt. Well, that was to say, Naruto was dirt poor. Like living in a box poor. Like really, really poor. Like really, really, _really _poor. Really, really…err…you get it right?; Naruto was in his height of poverty.

And Naruto was sure as hell wouldn't waste his money for a new set of clothes just because of a stupid wolf liked to tear his clothes off! Oh no, sir. The wolf had just have to cope that Naruto and his money were not to be separated easily and he could start by not tearing Naruto's clothes off the first chance he got, dammit!

With a burst of unexpected strength—hey, money can make you that way—Naruto pushed the unsuspected wolf and was able to miraculously slip away from the wolf's body trap. Diving haphazardly through the pile, he landed unceremoniously on the floor. He quickly stood and pointed a finger towards the surprised wolf.

Money clouding his judgement, Naruto had forgotten that he was facing a potentially dangerous creature—who could really kill him with its pinky—and exploded.

"You bastard! Just because you have those sharp claws, you think you can just slice my shirt like it was _your _piece of shirt, huh? Guess what? You can't, you stupid wolf! This shirt is mine! And Mr. Froggy is thin enough cause it was raining the last few days and—and I—I got no way to—to…er…I mean, there was no dry fire woods everywhere, ok? There was nothing to sell for days! And what do you know? You don't even have to wear shirt, you lucky bastard! You—you have all those—those f—fur!"

Naruto fumed. Really, Mr Froggy (his wallet) had suffered enough already. Who did this wolf think he was to make Mr Froggy suffer more? He glared fiercely at the offending creature—that looked stunned at the outburst—and continued, "Now, just because I am _such_ a good person, I won't charge you for the shirt this time…just stay the f'ck away from me!"

There was a deafening silence after the outburst. Naruto felt a little triumph at that but he was rudely shook out of his triumph moment when he noticed the wolf had started to move towards him. He was reminded back to how dangerous the creature was when the wolf smiled. Well,sort of. He didn't know for sure if the wolf was really smiling or not—who can actually tell anyway? What is more important was, the teeth, _the sharp teeth_, were hard to miss.

"I said stay the f'ck away from me!"

Naruto ran to the farthest side of the room. The wolf followed; stalking slowly, just like the predator that he was. Though, right now, it kept his fair distance from its prey. There was a glint of merriment in its red eyes; the wolf was totally enjoying this.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. That darn wolf looked too happy for Naruto's liking. He must had have thought that this was all a freaking game to him, chasing his prey around the room, like it was some kind of a hobby or something.

Okay, maybe it _was _a hobby for the wolf. Who the f'ck knows? Maybe in the wolf world, chasing people for food was a healthy hobby; it might even be a national sport. Maybe they even had an Olympic level competition for it. Yeah. Once again, who the f'ck knows?

A sharp claw crossed Naruto's line of sight.

_Shit! That was close, dammit! _Naruto was almost hyperventilating. If he didn't want to live so badly, he would have fainted by now. It felt like his heart stopped beating whenever the wolf got too close to catches him; its sharp claw was _this _close to graze his skin.

And Naruto noticed that, every time _that_ happened, the wolf looked to darn happy which only pissed Naruto off more. As such, that just made Naruto more determine not to get caught.

And he was not Uzumaki Naruto if he was not determine.

Naruto leapt away when the wolf got closer. He gave a grin of his own when the wolf missed. His grin widen when he saw the wolf's frown. "Think I'm that easy, eh, bastard? Think again."

Yeah, if he really had had to die for this, he wouldn't die easy. Let the wolf works a bit to get its food.

Just like that, unconsciously, they started some sort of run-and-chase game. Amazingly enough, Naruto was always a step ahead of the wolf. Was it because the wolf was going easy on him or he really had good reflexes, it was hard to tell.

Perhaps, the wolf was really going easy on him.

Perhaps Naruto really _had_ good reflexes, thankyouverymuch. He couldn't live in the wild, _alone_, and survive and not learn a thing or two, right? Right.

Naruto smirked. Damn he was good.

And there's more.

Not only was he getting ahead of that wolf, he was also smart enough to distract him by throwing things that he picked up on the floor at the wolf. If he could pat his back, he'd have done it because right now Naruto was so amazingly proud of himself; not just that he was still alive and running, he also was actually a step ahead and hitting the wolf!

_Huh, take that stupid wolf!_

Okay, actually, that was a bit of an exaggeration. He was not really hitting the wolf per say; his throws never hit the target to be truthful. But that was because the damn wolf has amazing reflexes too! Like he had this preternatural ability or something.

_Well, we can't always have it all. _That was Naruto positive attitude towards his not-hitting-the-target throws. He contented himself for near-missed throws right now, especially for that one particular throw that hit the wolf's ear.

Naruto grinned. Oh boy, score.

Without realising it, he too had begun to enjoy the chase and once again, forgot the danger of throwing things to dangerous animal. Not that the wolf retaliate or anything. Lucky Naruto.

The game lasted for quite some time; Naruto throwing anything he could get within his reach and the wolf doing its earnest to avoid it, never once trying to retaliate. A half an hour later found Naruto breathing heavily near the big bed—tired from all the running that he had done—and the wolf, standing on the other side of the bed, looking more and more frustrated.

909

Wolf-Sasuke _was_ frustrated. This chasing game shouldn't be _this_ long. He should be able to claim his mate, say, 25 minutes ago? Damn, if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that his mate was determined to run from him.

He did know better, though. His mate couldn't be running from him. He was sure of this. They _were_ soul mates, after all. They were _meant_ to be with each other. This chasing game was just supposed to be a—a…some kind of ritual only; he would chase his mate, the mate would playfully run away from him, he would catch his mate anyway and proceed to claim her afterward.

That was the mating ritual and every wolf knows that! It was a simple three-steps pattern: smell, chase and mark. The most idiotic wolf would get it.

Furthermore, wolf-Sasuke was convinced that his mate liked him. When he showed his black, healthy shiny fur and tail to her the other day, she seemed impress. No, scratch that. She _was _impressed. Wolf-Sasuke was proud of his fur and tail and he was happy that his soon-to-be mate thought so too. It was important to look good and healthy and strong in front of his mate or else, she would choose someone else.

The countless hours he spent on grooming his fur was worth it, no matter how vain it sounded.

Though, wolf-Sasuke had noticed, that his soon-to-be mate lacked fur. Sure, she had some on her head, a little here and there, but that was it. Was she infected by something and lost her fur? It must be cold without her fur but she still looked beautiful to wolf-Sasuke nevertheless; her skin was glowing healthily, her blue eyes were shining with vigour and wolf-Sasuke could tell his mate was strong.

Though wolf-Sasuke couldn't tell what type of wolf his mate was—wolf-Sasuke had never met a wolf with blue eyes before—he was guessing 'red wolf' judging by her blond hair. But then again, he could be wrong because he sensing more than one tail from his scent.

His mate must be from a different breed.

Oh well, that shouldn't matter much because on top of her looks, she smelled so wonderful to wolf-Sasuke. It was intoxicating; just a sniff and his inside became all calm and happy and peaceful.

Wolf-Sasuke had never been this peaceful since he became a lone-wolf. His pack had died years ago and as a wolf, living without a pack left him incomplete. Now that he had found his mate, he could start a pack of his own.

It must have been his luck to find such a beautiful and rare mate. He swore he would protect his mate no matter what and feed her with only the best fresh meat available.

Hmm…on a second thought, maybe not meat. His mate didn't seem to like meat; she refused to take his meat offer the other night. Maybe she liked fish? But what kind of wolf that doesn't like meat?

_The kind that soon will be my mate._

The merry glint was back in the wolf's eyes, looking at that soon-to-be mate. He had wasted his time long enough, chasing her around the room without much effort. Maybe now, he should move faster, claim her faster and the faster they could live happily ever after.

With that thought, he lounged, faster than eyes could detect, at his soon-to-be mate, to claim her. _Finally._

909

Naruto was standing near the bed watching the wolf, alert for his next move. He was taking a break from the running because he was getting tired. He was sweating a lot and he was actually quite hungry now. Though—from Naruto's observation from his side of the bed—unlike him, the wolf looked unaffected albeit a bit frustrated and he was watching Naruto so intently.

Looking at it, Naruto almost thought that the wolf was…thinking. Was it? Can a wolf think? Naruto tilted his head in a thinking pose and mulled over that thought in his head.

_But really, thinking wolf? That is as ridiculous a thought as wolf wearing pants!_ Naruto looked down at the wolf. _Okay. Maybe not. This wolf _is_ wearing pants. _

If he was forty percent convinced that the wolf could think before, now he was seventy-eight percent thought that the wolf was actually had some intelligence.

Naruto became wary. He must do something before the wolf made his first move. He looked longingly at the door and was about to take a mad dash to it when the next thing he knew, he was tackled to the bed. The wolf was immediately upon him and was busy tearing his clothes to shred with a vengeance.

Naruto gave out a startled yelp.

_Ohmigod! I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. It's gonna eat me!_

The wolf was aggressive and Naruto feared for his live! Out of fear, he started punching and kicking the wolf. He missed the moment when the wolf opened his mouth and….

_**Chomp! **_Hello teeth! Meet shoulder, your new chew toy.

It bit him! It. Bit. Him. Godammit!

Naruto froze.

The damn thing bit him! Naruto didn't freaking care where it bit him, just that the wolf had bit him! And there was blood and Naruto was sure it hurt; he couldn't really tell because he was too panic. He was panicking because there was blood and the teeth were still biting his shoulder. And it wouldn't leave. What could he do? What could he do? Naruto sure moving would be freaking hurt. The feeling of getting trapped only made him more panic and Naruto was fifteen point six seconds from hyperventilating and passing out.

But he couldn't pass out. What little survival he had in him right now told him if he passed out right now, he was good as dead. To avoid that, he did what he thought would help him from doing so.

He screamed a very loud, not-too-manly scream—girly scream, actually—that anyone in his 5km radius would hear.


	5. Chapter 5

**I must tell you all, it's raining favourites right now.**

**Am I fast or what? Nah, I'm a year behind schedule so this is like a compensation.**

**Hmm, so I guess escapism proves fruitful. Lucky you.  
**

**Anyway as usual, enjoy. This is unbetaed and fell free to point out any mistakes.**

**Oh another thing. Two words: World-cup and Torress. Hehehe.  
**

**p/s: To Bob, I'm still on earth.**

**TUMe.**

**Chapter 5: The Red Eyes  
**

Kakashi, the ever faithful assistant that he was, waited outside Sasuke's room after the young King walked in. He was contemplating with three options.

One, he could walk in and save the boy from the infatuated wolf-boy.

Two, he could just wait outside here and try to listen on what's going on inside the room.

Three, he could just walk away.

After spending oh-point-six minutes pondering on his options, Kakashi made up his mind. It was not a hard decision really: Kakashi walked away. Well, that boy hardly needed any help from him, did he? Wolf-Sasuke wouldn't, _couldn't _hurt his mate. The blond boy was as safe as he could ever be with his overprotective mate looking after his well-being than with anyone else. In contrary, if Kakashi were to walk inside, he'd be a dead _raw _meat, exactly how wolf-Sasuke liked his meat to be.

Besides, Kakashi wasn't so keen on seeing Sasuke in…ahhh…any compromising position. It was like watching his little brother having sex or something. And that was just eww…

Kakashi quickened his pace, to get as far away from the room in a shortest time possible. Though he _was_ a devoted pervert, who in any case wouldn't let any opportunity of getting free smut away, but he was not _that _pervert, mind you. Incest just wasn't his thing.

…..

Well, actually that wasn't really true. He _was _that kind of pervert. He'd love to wait and watch any smut—Sasuke in it or not, incest be damned—but Sasuke _definitely_ wouldhave his head if he knew Kakashi was watching. And Sasuke always knew, somehow. Needless to say, Kakashi was rather fond of his head, thankyouverymuch, so he rather stayed away.

So yeah, he'd let this past this time. Besides, there were numerous ways to get smut around this side of kingdom. For someone popular, charming, intelligent, kinda-handsome, popular, established, brilliant—have I mentioned popular?—like Kakashi, getting some actions was a piece of cake.

A wink and women fall for him left, right and centre. That showed how _cool _Kakashi was; The Hip and Cool Kakashi (yes, with capital).

Kakashi chuckled to himself, while carrying himself to a certain part of town where his Hip-and-Cool self could get some action. If The Dark, Brooding and Ominous could get some, then there was no way in hell he would be left behind. His reputation would be in jeopardy.

Yet, when he was exactly two-point-three-five kilometres from the room, he heard a piercing scream. _Man, what now?_

If he didn't have the sensitive hearing of a wolf, he wouldn't have known that the scream was coming from The Dark, Brooding and Ominous's room. Kakashi, on reflex, started to run back towards the room.

Once again, when he was in front of the door that leads into the room, he hesitated. Should he go in or should he wait outside? Should he rescue the boy or let Sasuke have his way with him? But the scream sounded like the boy was in a lot of pain. Was Sasuke somehow had decided that the boy would make an excellent food rather than a suitable mate? Was he wrong to assume that Sasuke had found the one?

But whatever the answers to his questions were, it was deadly to get inside. It would be heroic of him to get inside and try to save the boy but however _good_ he was as a fighter, he couldn't win again Sasuke.

Or rather, he could never win against wolf-Sasuke.

Sasuke was the _most_ dominant wolf this side of hemisphere and Kakashi was not even a full werewolf. In fact, he was not a werewolf at all. Kakashi was a man that had all of the hyper-sensitive senses of a wolf but none of the other werewolf's characteristics. He couldn't change or anything. Even if he were more dominant than Sasuke, he couldn't compare to Sasuke's superior strength.

In short, Sasuke was scarily powerful.

And in short, if he went in there, instead of one dead body, there might be two. So the obvious choice was to just get the hell away from the room and face whatever the consequences tomorrow morning, when Sasuke would turn back to human, where he would be more manageable.

Dejectedly, the silver-haired man walked back to his own room with a heavy black cloud hovering over his head. He had let another victim died. Again. He felt helpless.

_Shit. Guess I was wrong. That boy was not his mate after all._

And he was so sure too. He was so sure that that boy was Sasuke's chosen one because for all the time he had been with Sasuke—which was a very long time—he had never seen Sasuke showed much interest in a single person before, if any. Well, maybe his brother but that was totally different.

But then again, he also didn't mark that boy last night, did he? So, maybe Kakashi had assumed too quickly. And what others have been saying about making assumption?

Kakashi let out a painful sigh.

_Tomorrow_, he promised himself. He'd go and collect the body tomorrow, when Sasuke had changed back to his human form completely and no longer a deadly creature like he was now. After all, this was not the first time he had to do all that. For all the years he was with Sasuke, he had dealt with Sasuke's 'issues' aplenty. With his experience, he was as good as your average undertaker.

909

When Kakashi woke up that morning, he felt a bit guilty; for someone who blamed himself for sending a cute boy to his death, he slept soundly like a new-born baby! Fortunately, he still woke up early, like he usually did every single day—earlier than most people and certainly earlier than the young King—so he could do his job stealthily.

There was no particular reason why he always woke up early every morning. Maybe he was a morning person. Maybe it was easier to take his mask off with nobody around. Or maybe he just liked the cold. He had forgotten the exact reason why but still, he woke early every morning.

He took his shower before putting on his daily uniform. Then slowly, he gathered all the necessary items that he needed to efficiently rid a body into a sack. Fully prepared, Kakashi walked down to Sasuke's master bedroom.

The walk from his own bedroom to Sasuke's didn't take more than ten minutes because their rooms were situated on the same wing in the castle: The Left Wing. If he ran, he could get there in less than five minutes. The left wing was actually for royal members only because there was where the royal chambers were. Kakashi who was a non-royal shouldn't have no reason to stay there but Sasuke offered him.

Sasuke would never say it but Kakashi was family to him. Yet, if you saw how they treated each other, you wouldn't know it.

Exactly in five-point-oh minutes flat, Kakashi arrived at Sasuke's door.

He carefully turned the knob and peered inside. He saw Sasuke first; he had turned into human, just like Kakashi had predicted. He was sleeping soundly with his back towards the door without a shirt on and wearing only a pair of pants. That was predictable.

He didn't see the blond boy. Kakashi's heart plummeted. _He really ate the boy then._

Kakashi sniffed the room. There were the distinct smell of Sasuke's odour and he could smell some blood too but….Kakashi sniffed again to be sure. Well, this was weird. Yes, there was blood but he was expecting…more because bloody murder should be...bloodier, right?

Kakashi felt a little hope grew. Maybe Sasuke didn't eat the boy after all. Maybe he was right about the mate thing. Maybe he should just freaking get inside and see for himself and stopped all of these second-guessing.

Kakashi tentatively stepped into the room. He looked around and yes, no blood on the floor or on the wall or on the curtain or on….anywhere. He turned his eyes to the figure on the bed and walked closer. Kakashi tilted his head and looked closely and smiled.

_There._ He grinned.

The blond boy was sleeping, coiling under the Uchiha's larger frame; sleeping and _alived. _

Kakashi chuckled. _So then what was that scream for last night, eh? Sasuke was too rough? Oh Sasuke, you naughty boy, you. You've grown up._ Kakashi wiped the proverbial happy tears with his gloved hand.

Kakashi scooted closer to Naruto's side of the bed and finally got to see the mark on his neck. _Ahh, that was probably why he screamed. That's gotta hurt. That looks deep and it's still bleeding._

Seeing the bleeding neck, Kakashi frowned. Uh-huh. He forgot one freaking important fact about this entire mating thing. This boy was_ human_ and Kakashi just realized one thing, looking at the awful bruise; could he survive the mating?

_Shit. _How could he be so dumb? _Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Dammit! _Of course he couldn't. Duh! If Kakashi was no match to the wolf-Sasuke's strength, what were the chances that this boy have? Sure, Kakashi truly believed the wolf wouldn't hurt its mate but there was no telling that accident wouldn't happen. The wolf could have killed the boy by a mere accident.

And what would happen if the boy were to die? What the wolf's reaction would be? Not happy surely. Instead, Kakashi knew very well what happened to those wolves who lost their soul mates; they withered and died.

_Okay. Think. What the best course of action? They are mates now. Maybe…_ Kakashi looked at Sasuke again. _Nahh…that brat is stubborn, he won't acknowledge this. Especially this._

_Think._

_Think._

_Think._

_Right. _Kakashi stopped and pondered for a second. _ I guess I just take the benefit of the doubt. Let's just wait and see what will happen._

Making himself scarce, Kakashi waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Damn. The brats were wasting his time. How long were they planning to sleep? Kakashi had better things to do than wait for them. Kakashi went to the curtains. With an evil glint in his eye, he parted the curtains and that gave way to the sun outside to shine its way inside. The sunlight felt directly on Sasuke's prone figure; Sasuke stirred.

Kakashi watched as Sasuke immediately opened his eyes and took alert of his surroundings. He then, of course, noticed the boy sleeping near him and proceeded to push him out of bed.

Naruto fell with a 'thud'.

909

_Ouch. What the…._

He fell. Oh goddammit. His neck hurt. Even a small movement sent a lightening of pain through his body. _Shit, what happened?_ _Did I fall from a tree? _Naruto touched his neck. Uh-huh. His neck was _bleeding_ and….there was a figure towering over him. Naruto shifted his eyes, careful not to crane his bleeding neck, to look at the stranger looking down at him.

_He sure is pale and…black. _Was Naruto's first impression, looking at the pale body and the black pants that he wore.

_If look could kill, I'd be six feet under._ Was his second's because there _was_ murder written in the boy's eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The boy with the murderous eyes said. Sasuke never let anyone inside his room except, occasionally Kakashi, but no one else.

_Huh?_ Naruto's brain answered. Yeah, why was he here? More importantly, _where _was here? His own hut wouldn't look this big and…messy. This couldn't be his hut then.

_Hmm…_ The last thing he remembered was last night. He was chatting with Shika when that Kakashi-guy came and then…..

…..a wolf came and kidnapped him!

_Holy crap!_ A surge of fright gripped Naruto's heart. Forgetting about the pain in his neck he looked around the room for the wolf; the very wolf who had bit his neck!

"I said, what the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke was shouting now. Seriously, was this boy stupid or what? He only asked a _simple_ question and no one should take this long to answer him. Yeah, Sasuke didn't have patient in his dictionary. So what? You have a problem with that?Tell it to Sasuke and see, if you still have your head attached to your neck after that.

Yeah, Sasuke was a cruel bastard.

_Maybe he needs an encouragement. _And with an evenly cruel smirk, Sasuke kicked him.

Naruto whimpered at the pain that his movements caused and screamed in pain when the black-haired boy kicked him in the stomach. Naruto coiled on the floor, his eyes watering in pain.

Naruto looked up at him from the floor; pain and anger swelling in his eyes. "What the f'ck was that for, bastard? You son of a bitch! That's hurt, teme! And don't think I came here willingly. A stupid wolf kidnapped me. Look," Naruto pointed at his neck, "it even bit me here. Damn wolf. Shit, this hurts a lot."

Sasuke's eyes widened a millimetre at the comeback. "What did you just say?" The voice contained fury that Naruto failed to detect.

"What, are you deaf, bastard? That damn thing bit me!"

"Who do you think you are, you ungrateful piece of shit? How _dare_ you refer to me like that?" Sasuke roared. He gave another swift kick to Naruto's stomach and picked up his sword, intended to kill this irritating boy.

This boy was irritating, really. With his dirty mouth and his stupid blue eyes and his stupid, stupid blond hair and he deserved to die _just_ because of that. What? What do you mean it wasn't fair? Sasuke had killed people for lesser reason than this and _this_ boy here had called him—him! The King!—a bastard.

Sasuke was definitely going to have his head. For decoration. No one—no one!—could get away by calling him that. Especially _that. _Not even Kakashi. Sasuke lifted his sword, ready to impale the annoying boy with it but before he could use his sword, the blond boy side-swiped his feet and he almost fell. Hell, this boy didn't know where to stop, did he?

_The f*ck? He attacked me? This piece of shit dare to attack me? _If Sasuke was angry before, he was definitely furious now.

"And I said, its hurt, you bloody bastard! Stop kicking me!"

Clutching his sword once again, Sasuke said in a detached voice, "You. Die. Now."

Naruto eyes were wide when the sword swung and almost puncture him in the heart. He couldn't believe this; he would die in the hand of a snobbish bastard who wanted him dead because Naruto had bruised his pride! He didn't deserve to die for this, dammit. He didn't even do anything wrong this time. It was the bastard problem if he couldn't take a little confrontation. Bastard had an ego the size of a mountain!

"Sasuke!" Somebody shouted.

The next thing he knew, Naruto was roughly shoved away, at the same time the sword was about to pierce him. He looked at his saviour. It was the Kakashi-guy! Where the hell did he come from anyway?

909

Kakashi was not amused. Yes, he saw Sasuke kicked the boy's stomach but he didn't make any move to help. He was used to Sasuke's violent tendency. Don't get him wrong, it wasn't that he didn't want to help but it was important that Sasuke didn't notice him because he wanted to observe. After all, that kick was mild(in Sasuke's standard anyway); it could be worse.

Anyway, this observation of his was important. This observation would help him make some important decisions such as whether to let Naruto hang around Sasuke and get him to change Sasuke's mind_ or_ place them as far away from each other as he could so that _nobody_ would die. He was hoping Naruto could do the former.

Still, he wasn't expecting this. He was shocked when the boy talked back to Sasuke bravely as if Sasuke couldn't do him bodily harm. _The boy has a back-bone. _ He could tell Sasuke was shocked too; his eyebrow twitched. As far as Kakashi remembered, no one was ever brave or stupid enough to talk to Sasuke like that. His bad temper was legendary. You don't want to cross him for whatever reason.

"How dare you refer to me like that?"

Uh-huh, Sasuke just _roared_ and he had _never_ heard Sasuke roared before.

This was new. _This is interesting. _

Kakashi kept this information for further use. Sasuke was never one to use his voice loudly. He was a quiet boy by nature; just brooding and using cold voice most of the time. But then again, no one had ever called him 'bastard' or 'son of a bitch' or 'damn' to his face before. Well, Kakashi sure many had called him cruder nick names than this before but never to his face.

_This is really interesting. _He would have liked to ponder on this some more but Sasuke readiness to kill that poor boy sprung him into actions. Apparently, Kakashi couldn't keep silent any longer if he wanted to save the blond boy. He cried Sasuke's name and pushed the blond boy out of harm's way.

Sasuke glared at him with a pair of cold, cold eyes, obviously angry—but when was he _not _angry anyway?—at Kakashi's interruption. Kakashi ignored him in favour of looking at Naruto; he was shaking. Because of fright or because of pain, Kakashi wasn't sure. Kakashi's guess? The later.

"….f'ck of my way, Kakashi." Sasuke was talking to him. Kakashi turned his attention back to Sasuke just in time to see Sasuke was swinging his sword at him. Kakashi jumped to avoid it; he landed at the far corner of the room by mere reflex.

Sasuke gave him a satisfied smirk. _What was the boy thinking? _

Then, he realised his mistake. _Oh, shit! Dammit to hell!_

Attacking him was just a distraction; Sasuke was aiming for the blond boy! And like a fool, Kakashi fell for it.

"No!" Kakashi's shout was full of panic and despair. It was too late. Kakashi knew he couldn't reach Naruto in time and the boy was too shock to move on his own. Even if Naruto wasn't in shock, Sasuke was too fast for him; he'd know because he was the one who trained the boy; that Sasuke could move very fast like you wouldn't believe.

For Kakashi, it was like time had frozen. He saw Sasuke's evil smirk. He saw the sword fast coming towards Naruto's chest. He saw Naruto's eyes became as big as saucer with fright and then….

And _then_ there was a toe-curling scream coming from Sasuke. He crumpled to the floor like he was in some kind of intense pain. The sword dropped unceremoniously to the floor too. Kakashi watched in disbelieve for a few seconds before rushing to Sasuke's twitching body.

He knew that scream. Damn and hell! The wolf was trying to come out! He had heard it too many times not to recognize it. For Sasuke, his transition from man to wolf was very painful because he was determined to fight it. Unlike other werewolves, who were comfortable with their wolves' counterpart, the change was supposed to be smooth and easy.

Sure enough, Sasuke's eyes turned red and his hand was starting to change. This couldn't be good. This was never good. If it was never good when Sasuke had to change once a month on the night of full moon, it definitely,_ definitely_ spelled disaster if he started to change in the middle of the day.

"Wha…what happened to him?" Naruto's voice was shaking but he sounded concern too. Kakashi almost forgot he was still here.

Dammit. Naruto shouldn't see this. Couldn't see this. He shouldn't even be here. No one was supposed to see Sasuke's transformation.

So Kakashi said, "Get out. Run."

"What?" Naruto was confused. He was looking at Sasuke and Kakashi back and forth. What was happening to that bastard? He was—he was….was that red eyes Naruto saw? Naruto kinda shriek. Yes, those were red eyes and they were looking at him with—with…

_With what? _He didn't know! But he couldn't look away. The eyes were calling to him. They were—they were….

"Run." Kakashi said again, startling Naruto enough to break his eyes contact from the intense stare of the red eyes. "Run," a little louder this time, "and don't ever turn back." Kakashi's voice sounded grief.

A prickled of warning rang through Naruto's mind at that tone. Dammit but he wanted to stay, he wanted to learn what the eyes wanted to convey but the practical part of his brain told him to "Run! Dammit, run! Are you f'cking idiot? He's going to kill you dead, dumbhead!"

Naruto decided maybe this time he should listen to that logical voice screaming in his head. It didn't take more than a few seconds for Naruto to make up his mind and he bolted through the door.

**End of Chapter 5.**

**Have I mentioned that Sasuke is cruel? No? Well, Sasuke is cruel.**


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